


Fastest Way to One's Heart

by AdmantCrow



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Anxiety, Comedy, F/M, Fluff, Gaming, I'm doomed to write about them forever, Kissing, Melodrama, This one goes out to all y'all who couldn't pre-order a PS5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-25
Updated: 2020-09-25
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:21:25
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,753
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26642890
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AdmantCrow/pseuds/AdmantCrow
Summary: In which Chiaki struggles to obtain what she wants most in the world - a Playstation 5.And also in which Hajime learns the best way to someone's heart is a large rectangle of expensive plastic.
Relationships: Hinata Hajime/Nanami Chiaki
Kudos: 46





	Fastest Way to One's Heart

“Shit!” Chiaki cursed, half-banging a fist on the table, before groaning in pain from  _ hitting a metal table. _ Sonia and Peko looked at one another, before bursting into minor giggles from Chiaki’s uncharacteristic swear. “Why is it like this,  _ every _ console launch!?” Chiaki grumbled, almost slamming her Kirby-decorated laptop closed, before resting her head on her arms, looking thoroughly exhausted. “At least the other times I was able to get them…”

“I-I-Is everything okay!?” Mikan stammered, looking over nervously. She’d only just arrived for lunch with her friends, and didn’t know why Chiaki had been glued to her laptop for a half an hour, the sandwiches Hajime had made for her that morning remaining untouched.

“Do not worry, Mikan!” Sonia patted her on the shoulder as Chiaki opened up her laptop once again, seemingly with a new idea. “One of her new video game devices just became available to order on the market, but she’s finding considerable difficulty in claiming one, right Chiaki?” Chiaki didn’t even respond, just making a vague grunt that could’ve been directed at Sonia, or at something on her computer screen.

“W-Well, that’s fair enough, b-but, you should r-remember to eat your lunch, Chiaki…” Again, Chiaki did not immediately respond, but she did grab one of the sandwiches, and rather than dealing with the hassle of eating it piece by piece, somehow crammed the entire thing into her mouth, spending the next five minutes trying to swallow the damned thing. Mikan continued to fret over her, whilst Sonia and Peko simply roared with laughter at the scene. For the next hour or so, the four young women chatted about whatever (well, three of them - Chiaki contributed in grunts and groans as she continued to fail)

“I think her brain is fried.” Peko said mildly, finishing the last of the water in her bottle. Sonia giggled a little, watching her friend stare blankly at the screen.

“Perhaps this is a demon she could not slay.” She remarked, watching her closely.

“C-Chiaki?” Mikan stammered, leaning forward out of worry.

“That’s it, online is a failed battle.” Chiaki suddenly said, slamming her laptop closed once more, making Mikan yelp and topple back in surprise, and Peko and Sonia giggle in response once again, even as they got up to help her.

“All out of avenues for acquiring the console, Chiaki?” Sonia asked, packing up her things. Chiaki grunted again, shaking her head.

“No, not yet. Not yet at all.” Chiaki declared, throwing everything into her special bag. “Peko, can you do me a favour?” Chiaki said, throwing her arms in the air in frustration. Peko yawned softly, tired from likely being up half the night, since she and Mikan had gone out on the town.

“Whatever you need, Chiaki.” Chiaki nodded, quickly flicking through her phone. She had to plan a route, and check all the big stores. If she could just find  _ one _ of these places with physical pre-orders still going, then she’d be fine. Then she’d get this damned, thrice-cursed, wonderful console. Chiaki wiggled around the table to show Peko her phone, and the route of all the game and and electronic stores that _may_ still have PS5s available to pre-order.

“Good luck, dear bestie!” Sonia told her, clapping her on the back more than a little roughly. Chiaki’s face was so determined, she barely even noticed. 

_ “I will get this damned console. _ ” Chiaki thought angrily.  _ “I will not miss out. _ ”

* * *

“What’s happening, fools?” Fuyuhiko said casually, Peko raising her eyebrows in mock annoyance. “Going to do some collections?” He added, glancing at Peko’s black motorcycle. After their lunch, Peko had brought Chiaki right to Hope’s Peak’s parking area, where she kept her motorcycle. She was the only one in their class who owned a vehicle, though Mikan had recently gotten a provisional license, after a  _ lot  _ of playful urging from Peko. Peko had swung by her dorm room to get some riding clothes for protection for the two of them, before heading right to her bike.

“I am  _ not _ taking Chiaki with me to do work.” Peko said, with a hint of  _ real _ annoyance at him. 

“Playstation preorders are up.” Chiaki said breathlessly, looking akin to like she was on the verge of some kind of heart attack. “Gotta go into the stores to try and find one.”    
  
“Riiiight.” Fuyuhiko said, looking over the two women. 

“She’d been staring at her laptop since then trying to get her hands on one, but with no luck so far, so I’m going to drive her around and try and help out.”

“Thank you, Peko.” Chiaki said quietly, for the first time clicking out of her obsession-fuelled funk. “I know you’re busy on our days-off, so I really appreciate you going on this side-quest with me.” Peko smiled from her kind words, but Fuyuhiko just groaned audibly.

“Once you butter Peko, she’ll do  _ any _ favours. You should hear some of the stuff Mikan gets her to-” The baby-faced yakuza was silenced from one steely glare from his foster sister, and he remained silent.

“I’m happy to do this for you, Chiaki.” The grey-haired swordswoman told her, smiling warmly. “I wanted to go for a ride today, anyway, so this is a good excuse to take her out.  We’ll be back in a few hours, so we’ll grab dinner later, okay?” Peko told Fuyuhiko, which he nodded to.

“Yeah, yeah, no problem here. Don’t crash or anything.”

“Yeah, yeah, don’t get mistaken for a preschooler.” She retorted with a grin, but before Fuyuhiko had a chance to retort, Peko revved her motorcycle twice, and drove off down the road.

“Goddamn it… preschooler my…” He was about to stride back towards the dorms, to go vegetate for a bit until the evening, but then he saw a familiar brown-haired Reserve Course student coming his way. Well, that was one way to cheer him up a little bit. “Hajime!” He called out.

“Hey, man.” Hajime greeted Fuyuhiko, raising his hand to his hi-five, as they always did. And as always, Fuyuhiko reciprocated the motion.

“Hey, what’s up?” Fuyuhiko responded, glancing down the street. Man, Chiaki must’ve gotten Peko to drive fast.

“Nothing, just trying to hunt down Chiaki. She ain’t answering calls, and I got something to tell her, you seen her around? Mikan said she was heading down here with Peko.” Fuyuhiko smiled with some amusement at his best friend’s question. He jabbed a thumb down the hallway.

“Should’ve gotten the rocks out of your shoes, man. Chiaki just asked Peko to drive her to some game store or some shit. They just left.” Hajime frowned, letting out a big sigh at his answer. “What’s the issue, man?”

“Is she off trying to hunt down a Playstation?” Hajime asked, digging out his phone. Fuyuhiko raised his eyebrows amusedly, striding over to his friend. 

“Well, yeah, she’s been chomping at the bit for months for them to announce them, as  _ she keeps constantly telling us. _ ” Fuyuhiko sigh, his smile betraying his fondness for Chiaki.”Seems like she’s having trouble, though, Peko mentioned she couldn’t get one over lunch.”

“Check this out, then.” Hajime said, grinning, flashing his phone towards his friend. Fuyuhiko raised his eyebrows, his features betraying his surprise.

“Well, well, Mr. Moneybags.” Fuyuhiko said sarcastically, grinning at Hajime. “You do know how to get into a woman’s heart, that’s for sure.” Hajime snickered a bit, putting his phone back in his pocket.

“Like you’d know anything like that, dumbass.” Hajime teased, making his friend huff loudly.

“Shaddup, shithead.” He quipped, his baby-faced smile shining through. “Let’s hope they don’t find a PS5 out there, or you’re gonna be out a bunch of money.” Hajime gave him an almost queasy smile.

“In that case… would you be in the market for a PS5?”

* * *

Chiaki glanced up as she came into her room. Hajime was already there, stretched out on the couch, playing something or other on her Switch. A few months ago, after they’d started dating, Chiaki had managed to convince Souda to get a copy of her key made, so Hajime could come and go as he pleased,  _ even _ if he technically wasn’t supposed to be, or  _ technically _ if they weren’t allowed to make key copies. Souda had complained something about not getting a girlfriend of his own, but had done the deed anyway, getting her the copy. So, whenever he didn’t have class or more pressing things to do, Hajime usually hung out in Chiaki’s room, even if she wasn’t there. He looked at the door, grinning in that adorable way he always did.

“Hey, Chiaki.” He said softly, clicking the Switch into sleep mode as he sat up. “How’s things been today?” He added, smiling a little more. Chiaki let out a big sigh, putting her special backpack to the side as she flopped next to her partner. After all that work, running around town, even looking into the connection of her Ultimate friends, she’d missed out on the preorder for the PS5. She felt terrible, honestly, beyond bummed out. 

“I’m… fine, I guess.” She saw the concern cross his face, but he still smiled, acting like she really was fine. Of course, he could read her like a book, but it was nice he didn’t really ask what was wrong. She had moods like this, like anyone else, and he knew if it was really serious she’d tell him. Honestly, she was just too pissed off at her bad luck and the crappy store online servers. It was  _ their _ fault she missed out. Either way, Hajime was content to just let her cool off and relax until she was in a better mood. “What are you playing, Hajime?” Chiaki asked, settling into the couch properly. Well, if there was anything that was going to pull her out of her depression regarding video games - it was probably more video games.

“Hades came out a few days ago, so I’ve been grinding through that.” His smile fell a little as the words  **THERE IS NO ESCAPE** spread out across the screen. “I’m, uh, not very good yet.” He added, laughing a little. Chiaki lent a little against him, watching as he entered the hub world.

“You’ve been playing, what, a few hours? You’ll power up soon, Hajime.” Chiaki re-assured him. 

“It’s hard to feel that when I watch you play games, Chiaki.” He said flatly, and Chiaki couldn’t help but giggle. “But I concede to your wisdom.”

“That’s fair.” She said, very matter-of-factly. “What do you think of it so far?”

For the next while, Chiaki rattled off a ton of information to help Hajime progress through the hellish game. Hajime drank in all her tips, encouraging her to keep going whenever he got a little more stuck.One of the things she liked more about him, was just how much he liked hearing her talk about video games. Maybe it was a little vain to think that, but since they’d started spending time, and he actually started playing a lot of video games, he always loved hearing her opinions and thoughts on their new shared hobby, and he  _ always  _ wanted to know what new game looked good, or what old gem she recommended for him. Soon after her questions, he started to talk about what  _ he _ liked about the game, his impressions and such. He sometimes found it hard to describe exactly  _ what _ drew him into games, but it was so endearing for Chiaki to hear him gush about what he liked. And just sitting here talking, watching Hajime play Hades, and just being  _ together _ … she felt a little better about missing out on the PS5. Even if it still really,  _ really _ stung

At the very least, the workers at the stores she visited said she’d probably be able to get a pre-order in a few weeks, but there was no certainty she’d get one this year. And there goes her good mood, even as Hajime wrapped an arm around her,  **THERE IS NO ESCAPE** once again filling the screen. He glanced over to her, looking concerned - was she that easy to read, still? Was it so obvious what was in her head? Maybe it was just natural to him. How frustrating.

“I’m okay.” She murmured, despite how down she felt. “Keep playing, it’s nice to take my mind off things.” Hajime smiled at her, looking a little concerned, but then he glanced over at her computer, a new expression popping up on his funny little face.

“Oh yeah, that’s right, I almost forgot.” He said suddenly, his surprise feeling  _ very _ rehearsed ahead of time. Her Hajime wasn’t the most spontaneous person in the world, that was for sure. Either way, she went along with it - he’d probably heard from Sonia or Mikan ahead of time that she was feeling down about missing out, and they probably asked to cheer her up. And of course, Hajime being the big bundle of love that he was, would do  _ anything  _ to cheer her up. Hajime wormed his way out of Chiaki’s cuddle, going over to Chiaki’s computer he frequently worked at why she gamed half the night away. He quickly logged on, clicking through a couple of things, before printing something out. Chiaki raised her eyebrows, utterly lost at what he was trying to do; she could imagine he  _ was _ trying to cheer her up with something, but she couldn’t remember the last time someone had done that by printing out something physically. But then again, Chiaki thought, covering her mouth to smother a giggle, Hajime was a little old-fashioned with stuff like this. He frowned at her as he came back folding up the bit of paper as he sat down. “Something funny?” He asked, his mock annoyance just making her giggle even more.

“Just you being you, Hajime… I guess.” Chiaki said, smirking behind her hand. He let a big over-the-top sigh, making a big show about not handing her the piece of paper like he wanted to. “What game are you playing now…?” She said slowly, her curiosity growing. 

“Well, if you’re going to be mean to me, maybe I’ll just hold onto this…” He half-frowned, sighing dramatically. He was even about to get to his feet, but then Chiaki just reached out, tugging him back down. Quickly, she lent up and planted a kiss on his lips, taking advantage of his mometary (and very obviously planned) surprise, and snatched the bit of paper out of his hand. Breaking the kiss, Chiaki glanced down at the piece of paper, quickly scanning it, feeling Hajime’s eyes and grin on her. Briefly, her brain shut down from surprise, but upon it rebooting, she quickly read through it again.

Written in bold at the top of the page was  **Playstation 5 (Standard Edition) Launch Pre-Order** . She read over all the details, three times. It was Hajime’s payment information, but the order had been made for her. Slowly, her brain finished rebooting (again - she wondered if smoke was coming out of her ears at this point), and her heart began to thump harder and harder as her body caught up.

“H-Hajime…” Chiaki murmured, putting the pre-order confirmation on the table, before reaching out to hold both his hands tightly. “How… What dungeon did you find this in!? I searched all over the place, I scoured the internet, I even looked at less legal methods…” She saw Hajime’s face grow more concerned, but she ignored it. “Hajime, how did you get me a pre-order? How!?” She was practically 

“You know that rich buddy I have? He called me up yesterday, saying he’d gotten early access to the PS5 pre orders, and asked if I wanted one. I knew you were looking to grab one today, and I told him this, but he said they were going to sell out hard and fast. But he said, in case you couldn't grab one, he’d have one put on hold, just in case. Eventually, her brain reactivated, and Chiaki just threw her arms around Hajime’s middle, half-knocking him down. He was so good,  _ so good _ to her. How could one man be so thoughtful, so kind? Hajime slowly resettled himself, making it so the two of them were lying side-by-side on the couch.

“I almost caught up to you, and I told Fuyuhiko about my plan - he said he was surprised a country-boy - like I’m not from a city or something - had that kind of dough to spend on it. I told him that I was only going to make you pay half, but now that he said that, I feel like I might-” Chiaki pre-pouted before he was very obvious going to offer to pay the tens and thousands of yen instead of her.

“Of course, I’ll pay my half, you oaf.” Chiaki frowned, resting her forehead against his. “I’m not making you pay all that to power me up.” She could see the defiance on his face, but she  _ would  _ get that money into his account. Hajime wasn’t remotely poor, but he wasn’t doing that for her.

“I’m not going to win that argument, I know, just don’t tell Fuyuhiko, okay?” He laughed, and she did,too.

“Sure thing.” She laughed, her mind abuzz with the fact that she  _ had _ a PS5 coming her way in a few months. “How’d you know I wasn’t able to find one? I still had a shot at grabbing one whilst I was out.”

“Peko texted me, I think a little before she drove you off to hunt down physical pre-orders. I was hoping I’d be able to catch you before then, but I guess it worked out in the end.” His voice grew a little more nervous. “I, uh, didn’t know if you’d be able to grab one when you and Peko went off, so I came back here to try and relax, and plan how I was gonna get my money back on a brand new PS5.” Chiaki couldn’t hold it in - she burst out laughing. Of course he’d gambled on tens of thousands of yen, just to make sure she’d be happy. He was an idiot. Her wonderful idiot. Chiaki found herself frowning. He’d probably known ahead of time how sad she’d feel if she missed out, and worked hard to avoid that. That… didn’t feel as good to think about. But Hajime and her therapist had told her to vocalise her thoughts like this, so...

“I felt so sick, not being able to grab one.” Chiaki murmured quietly. “I know it’s okay to love video games, to love collecting and buying and playing all these, but I don’t want to be so obsessed that it makes me ill.” She sighed, heavily. “I ruined lunch, and dragged Peko around half the day looking for a pre-order. That’s not what a good friend does.” Hajime rubbed her hair gently, frowning.

“I don’t think it’s that bad a thing for you to be so focused, I mean, we know your brain isn’t quite wired like the rest of us, but that isn’t a bad thing at all. Peko and others probably didn’t mind at all, anyway, they love and appreciate you for what you are.” Chiaki murmured some kind of response, wriggling a little closer against him. He always knew what to say. “Though, I suppose if you want to try and chill out a bit with what’s in your head, that’s okay too, if it’ll make you feel happier about yourself.” She nodded against him.

“Yeah. Thanks.” She murmured. She held him close, fingers intertwining in his hair. God, he really was perfect, wasn’t he? Woking so hard for her silly little hyperfixation (which, Chiaki noted, was the biggest under exaggeration she’d ever made). Coaching her through when her brain shorted out. “I love you.” She whispered, rubbing her nose lightly against him, drawing a little chuckle from him. “I really,  _ really _ love you, Hajime.” She kissed him, and she could feel him smiling into her.

“I love you too, Chiaki.” He murmured against her. They lay there for a few minutes, trading kisses here and there, content with one another one’s presence. Honestly, Hajime looked prone to falling asleep there and then, something Chiaki was thoroughly not in the mood for - which is saying something for her, who constantly needed her batteries recharged from social activities. And as her mind kept wandering back to that special slip of paper, and how happy it was, and by extension, Hajime made her, she was in the mood for a little more than napping.

“Hey Hajime?” She said quietly, her partner’s eyes fluttering open, grunting some form of acknowledgement ”I think you need a special reward, for once.” Chiaki said, rather flatly, though Hajime got a brief look at her cheeky smile before she pounced.

“C-Chiaki!” Hajime gasped as she toppled him onto his back, climbing on top of him to kiss him even more fiercely. Hajime looked as confused as he was into this whole situation. Throwing caution to the wind, Hajime wrapped his arms tightly around her, holding her close as he passionately kissed back, Chiaki wondering, half jokingly, if he was feeling better and better about the money he’d spent on the PS5. As the kiss grew in intensity, so did their touch. Almost without thinking, Chiaki found her hands worming beneath Hajime’s shirt, stroking and lightly scratching at his frustratingly perfect stomach and chest - normally she didn’t mind, but it was times like this Chiaki felt a little conscious of her soft, slightly round belly, but the attention Hajime frequently gave it usually made her feel better about it. Speaking of which, one of Hajime’s hands found their way beneath the back of her shirt, fingers nervously and tenderly stroking at the small of her back, his touches becoming firmer and, well, scratchier, as he roamed a little further. Chiaki squirmed a little on top of her love, feeling him laugh a little against her lips. He was cute, if nothing else. And then he laughed a little again, as a particularly adventurous hand found its way under the back of her skirt, stroking lightly, nothing more, though she was a little surprised. She didn’t - definitely didn’t - protest to his exploring hand, and she knew he wouldn’t go further without asking. As their kiss continued, passionate as it was, Chiaki began to realise that maybe she did want to ‘go further.’ They had been dating for a year now, though until recently, neither of them had been particularly interested in more passionate displays of affection.

She didn’t want to go further just because Hajime snagged her a PS5 - Chiaki was game-crazy, but even that wasn’t her style - but doing this, touching him, being touched, different then normal… it felt right. All of this felt right, like the perfect build in a roguelike. So, swallowing her worry, Chiaki decided to ask.

“If you want…” Chiaki said, feeling an uncharacteristic, PS5-fuelled burst of courage. “I can give you a high-level reward if you want…?” She could feel herself grinning, inkling her head towards their bed, one of her hands lightly stroking his… excellently broad chest. Hajime kept beaming that excited smile at her, until  _ exactly  _ what she was proposing to him, and he went as red as a tomato. She held in a laugh, but she could feel her heart beating,  _ hard _ , waiting for his answer. 

“Oh. Oh! You mean… sex?” Hajime said rather bluntly, making Chiaki burst out laughing a little.

“Yeah, I meant sex.” Well, at least that disarmed the tension, she thought, trying not to laugh too much. Hajime frowned a little, but he couldn't keep up that facade too much. Bringing her head close again, he smiled as he chuckled a little bit.

“Well, if it’s okay with you.” Hajime laughed, stroking her soft cheek.”I don’t want the first time we made love to be because I preordered a PS5 for you. I feel that’d doom me to a level of nerdom I’d never really climb out of.” Chiaki giggled, giving him another peck on the cheek. She  _ had _ been half-joking when she said it, but she couldn’t help but feel a  _ little _ disappointed about it. Though, even as he said all this, he kept his  _ other _ hand on her  _ other _ cheek, and somehow Chiaki knew that the next step in their relationship wasn’t too far off. This was just as nice, anyway. "Maybe... next time we're like... _this._ " He added with a whisper, Chiaki feeling her cheeks going hot. Yeah, that was a pretty big indicating flag.

“I’ll have to spoil you in different ways then.” Chiaki declared, resting her arms on his chest, and her head on her arms. “And anyway, I haven’t gotten the equipment we need for that adventure.” She added lamely, Hajime grinning a little, still embarrassed.

“What’s the first thing you’re going to play on the console, when you get it?” Hajime asked, watching the joy return to her face as she, indeed, remembered that she was getting a PS5.

“Honestly, the launch line-up for the console isn’t that great,so I’m a bit more excited to play something from the PS4 at a higher level of quality. Though, I'll probably pick up Demon Souls so I can drag you through that one!” Hajime laughed a little as she told her, since in the last year or so since they’d started dating, she got him to play pretty much every Souls game in the series - and he’d loved it, but he felt he’d developed a bit of anxiety going through the criminally difficult games.

“I can’t wait.” Hajime said in a mock-deadpan voice. “I’m just excited to see your face when it actually turns up.” He gave her another hug, Chiaki gripping his front tightly as he did so. 

“Anyway, after all that exciting heart event, I think it’s time to game.” Chiaki finally said, Hajime sighing a little as all the wind fell out of their passion-charged sails. Grinning awkwardly as he gave her behind a little extra squeeze, making it Chiaki’s turn to feel a little embarrassed (in a good way), Hajime withdrew his hand and let Chiaki get up off of him, his partner wandering off to go get her Switch.

“What’s on the agenda, then, future owner of a Playstation 5?” Hajime asked, sitting up properly, reaching over to grab his own controller. If she was playing games, and he didn’t have work to do, they normally gamed at the same time, and she could see he was excited to play more Hades. And when he was excited to game, she was  _ really _ excited too.

“Probably just continue Disgaea 4.” Chiaki said flatly, fishing her Switch out of it’s dock. “Nothing too wild for me.” Hajime made a grunt in response.

“Nothing too wild, huh? The things I see you doing in that game, I feel like I’d have a brain aneurysm.” He said quietly, starting up Hades again. “My brain isn’t wired correctly, methinks.” Chiaki just giggled a little.

“You gotta open your fifth eye, Hajime.” She said dryly. “I suppose.” He just laughed, which was not her intended effect, but it was always nice to hear him laugh. God, she was hopeless around him. “I love you.” Chiaki murmured, resting her head in his lap as she booted up Disgaea 4. “And you’re too good to someone like me, as always.” Hajime just looked down, beaming, as he ruffled her hair playfully.

“It’s fine, really. I do stuff like this  _ because _ I love you so much.” He lent down a little, planting another gentle, loving kiss on her lips. God, he was a good kisser, Chiaki thought. “And besides, I don’t mind paying half of it, since if we’re gonna be living together, I’ll be playing it just as much.” Upon finishing his sentence, his cheeks went a little pink, and a cheeky smile slipped across Chiaki’s cheeks.

“Thinking a bit of the future, after school, Hajime?” She asked playfully, knowing full well how meek Hajime got about their future. Hajime didn’t say anything at all, just focussing on the non-stop action unfolding on his screen.

“We’ll come to that flag when we raise it.” He murmured, under his breath, and Chiaki knew that flag was coming real soon. Now, if it came before her PS5… well, that was probably the only thing she found more exciting than getting a PS5!

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!


End file.
